Texans blow lead, rally for late victory at NJCAA tourney

HUTCHINSON, KAN. - For the first 16 minutes, everything came easy for South Plains.

The Texans were running and gunning and having a good ol' time in their first-round NJCAA Tournament game with Georgia Perimeter.

But, the last 24 minutes were a big-time struggle. A 21-point lead was erased with nine minutes remaining and Georgia Perimeter - the little engine that could - almost did.

The confidence factor was clearly in the Jaguars' court.

"As we were losing it, they were gaining it," South Plains coach Steve Green said. "I don't think we got it back until the last four or five minutes."

The Texans got the lead back just in time and picked up a victory in the process, outscoring Georgia Perimeter, 88-83, at the Sports Arena.

The victory moves the Texans (27-5) into tonight's 8:30 second-round game against Indian Hills, Iowa, while Georgia Perimeter (23-11) will play Itawamba, Miss., at 2 p.m. today in a consolation game.

For Georgia Perimeter, this one was tough to accept. The Jaguars, outsized at nearly every position, had this one right where they wanted, but couldn't finish.

"I'm very proud of the way we fought back," said Jaguar head coach Al Barney, who was flanked by two tearful players - Jacquiese Holcombe and Kaihrique Irick. "Guys made plays. We didn't quit, but a lot of times you can catch up but you can't keep up."

South Plains was ahead, 27-18, at the 8:16 mark in the first half when it really put things in high gear. Over the next three minutes, the Jaguars went on a 14-2 blitz behind a pair of rim-rattling dunks from Jonathan Hall, a 3-pointer from David Tairu and two inside baskets from Carlos Dos Santos.

After a slam-dunk by Hall with 4:18 remaining before halftime, South Plains had opened up a 41-20 lead.

"I thought some of the guys might have been overwhelmed," Barney said. "We played tight. We didn't play as a unit like we talked about. We were nervous and didn't do the things we had talked about doing."

The Jaguars, from Decatur, Ga., started doing everything right after that. They cut the South Plains lead to 11 (44-33) at halftime and to seven points just two minutes into the second half.

"We started playing as a team instead of as individuals," said Holcombe, a 6-foot-7 sophomore, who finished with 24 points and eight rebounds. "They were real big, but our quickness really gave them trouble."

The troubles continued for South Plains. As quickly as the Texans built a 12-point lead (53-41), Georgia Perimeter scored nine consecutive points to make it 53-50 with 13:02 remaining.

Georgia Perimeter tied the game at 59-59 after a 3-pointer by Holcombe with 8:50 remaining and the teams traded baskets before South Plains took the lead for good. A 9-2 run, capped by a 3-pointer by Luciano De Souza, gave the Texans a 72-65 lead at the 5:15 mark.

Georgia Perimeter kept things close the rest of the way, but could never get closer than four points.

"I knew we could do it," said sophomore guard and Texas Tech commit Nick Okorie, who was one of five South Plains players in double figures. "At the start, we came out the aggressive and they were shooting tough shots, bad shots. Then, we kind of let down for a while."

Both teams shot the ball well. South Plains hit 50 percent (31 of 62) from the field and 21-of-27 free throws. Georgia Perimeter made 54 percent of its shots in the second half and finished 30 of 62. But, the Jaguars were out-rebounded, 36-26, and lost despite turning the ball just nine times.

"Once we decided to play and do what we were supposed to, I thought we were all right," Barney said. "But second-chance points in the last four or five minutes really hurt us."

Irick had an impressive game for Georgia Perimeter with 26 points and six rebounds. Dos Santos led a balanced South Plains attack with 19 points. Okorie had 18 points, Hall 17 (on 8 of 9 shooting) and De Souza 16. Tairu added 11 points and eight rebounds.

"We've had a team all year long that scores points," said Green. "The thing is, if we shoot the ball well, we're going to be in the game. When we lost our four or five games this season, we didn't shoot the ball well."